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Information for G03102

Climate change: from Copenhagen to Cancun

A year after the grim UN climate change negotiations in Denmark that resulted in parties merely ‘taking note’ of a three-page ‘Copenhagen Accord’, 194 countries met in Cancun, Mexico. Unlike the furore surrounding the Copenhagen negotiations, expectations were comparatively low-key for Cancun. The Copenhagen conference had damaged faith in the UN climate convention as an effective and legitimate negotiating forum. Restoring confidence in this process was a priority for Cancun. Parties were seeking a modest but balanced outcome across all main elements of the 2007 Bali Action Plan (BAP) which includes adaptation, mitigation, finance, technology, and capacity building.